Ethiopia was always going to face an uphill battle against African giants, Nigeria. The Ethiopians rested on Saladin Said, the striker who boasts 11 in 21 matches for the national team.

The Nigerians though, could call upon top level European experience in their captain and goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama of Lille in France, as well as Chelsea players John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses, although the latter is on loan at Liverpool.

The gulf in class proved too much for the Ethiopians, who went down 4-1 on aggregate.

Tunisia and Cameroon looked finely poised after the first leg ended in a 0-0 stalemate. The Cameroonians have star-power though, in the form of midfielder Alex Song (Barcelona) and their captain, Samuel Eto-o (Chelsea).

They powered through the second leg, winning 4-1. It is the seventh time Cameroon have qualified for the FIFA World Cup, the most out of any African nation.

The Ghana v Eygpt tie was over after the first leg. With Michael Essien, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Sulley Muntari, Asamoah Gyan and Christian Atsu in their side, Ghana smashed Egypt 6-1.

The Egyptians restored a modicum of pride by winning the second leg 2-1, but that couldn-t put any gloss on a 7-2 aggregate defeat.

The tie between Burkina Faso and Algeria was the only close contest of the final stage of qualifying. Burkina Faso held the advantage after a 2-1 in the first leg.

Algeria though, fought back to win the second leg 1-0 and thus qualify for Brazil on away goals.

They may be the same five teams that qualified in 2010, but the African nations are ever-improving and with some genuine superstars in their ranks, they will be formidable opponents.